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Social distancing is a widely used concept: keeping a safe distance from potential carriers (everyone you meet) is a must for many if you have cases that require you to leave home.
But imagine that instead of being two meters away, you are hundreds of miles from the nearest crown. Thousands of miles from the small and recurring anxiety attacks that occur when someone gets on the tram, a child with a runny nose gets too close or worst of all: when someone in the neighborhood sneezes.
This is how Swedish chef Karin Jansdotter lives, raised in Hajom in the municipality of Mark.
For the past few months, she and five Norwegians have been on the staff of the Norwegian research station Troll in Antarctica, the world’s only uncrowned continent.
The closest confirmed cases of infection are in the Falkland Islands, hundreds of kilometers away.
– My mother mentioned a virus outbreak in China when we spoke on the phone. But I didn’t think about that much before Erna Solberg, Norway’s prime minister, held a press conference in March and urged everyone not to panic and everyone, ah, panicked, she says of a surprisingly good connection from WhatsApp.
– We have very good internet here! she notices
“Eight months until we see someone else”
According to the Johns Hopkins University Confirmed Crown Case Map, she and her colleagues are just over 3,600 kilometers from the nearest carrier. Or 3.6 million meters. There are only two seasons: summer, between November and February, and winter, when the sun is rarely seen and temperatures can drop to minus 40.
“We chose the best year to be in Antarctica,” he says, laughing before continuing:
– We will not be infected and it will be eight months until we see another person.
Chef Karin Jansdotter grew up in Hajom, a little outside of Gothenburg. Image: Private
The research station belongs to the Norwegian Polar Institute and during the high season between November and February, the base can house up to fifty researchers.
– Although the researchers are mainly in the field and can be here for a week or two, she says.
Troll research station. Image: Karin Jansdotter
Fifty became a few
But it’s not high season anymore, and when the last investigator boarded the last flight on February 20, Karin Jansdotter remained on the frozen ground.
The corona virus had arrived in Europe and he had nine months left at the base, along with an electrician, a plumber, a mechanic, and a research technician. They live there now, isolated together in a building of about 400 square meters. The same dimensions as Big Brother’s home in Stockholm Farsta, although instead of partying and taking on tasks configured for thematic weeks, they carry out daily maintenance of the research base, maintaining the aerodrome that is seven kilometers away and send three weather observations a day.
– It’s some coding, but the best weather observations are made by yourself.
There is also a sixth person on the team, a doctor.
– We can’t go to any hospital. So we need a doctor in case something happens, he says, explaining that despite the great physical distance from the situation, it is the corona virus that dominates the talks.
– We have been together for five months, so the discussion topics begin to end. So the corona virus is something that everyone is talking about.
Just having a doctor on site says she has helped a lot. The abundance of information offered by the network has also reached them.
– We asked him so many questions that in the end he gave us a conference where he analyzed everything. So he reassured us with accurate data, on exactly how a virus attacks the body, etc.
“Very liberating to have some things”
Voluntary isolation from the outside world for thirteen months probably doesn’t sound too appealing to most, although southern Antarctica offers several beautiful views. But she says isolation was the reason she came here from the beginning.
– That I can’t get out of here – don’t buy, don’t go to a cafe. You have to settle for what you have, it is very liberating to have some things because it requires creativity.
Is what you say reminiscent of the advice given to them in quarantine at home?
– Yes, instead of looking for new things and materials, you can appreciate what you have and the people around you. But I can really imagine that many feel that they are losing part of their identity. Who are you when you don’t have a job to go?
Home stories feel unreal
The fact that the sun does not follow the circadian rhythm to which they are accustomed has caused everyone to set the clock after their time at home. They all maintain close contact with families, including Karin Jansdotter.
– Now we will probably talk three or four times a week, if possible. Facetima much and ask many questions and tell them to stay home. Mom is already planning when she gets home and hopes the virus is gone, she says.
Easy to go down into a negative spiral
Both Karin Jansdotter and her parents live in Torestorp, a little outside of Gothenburg, they are actually neighbors. She says that at first it was difficult to get the answers she got when she asked about what it was like at home.
– There is no flour left in stores. The queues meander from the pharmacy to the street, it feels unreal. For my part, I get anxious when I think of family and people in my care, she says and continues:
– It’s easy to get into a negative spiral, but it doesn’t help me or anyone else. I will not come here anyway.
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